A Metrical History of England Or, Recollections, in Rhyme, Of some of the most prominent Features in our National Chronology, from the Landing of Julius Caesar to the Commencement of the Regency, in 1812. In Two Volumes ... By Thomas Dibdin |
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A Metrical History of England | ||
226
Royal Poetry of this Reign.
Edward was learned, tho', like me, no poet;
The following lines, his own, may serve to shew it;
When, to a dungeon fallen from a throne,
The royal sufferer thus made his moan:
The following lines, his own, may serve to shew it;
When, to a dungeon fallen from a throne,
The royal sufferer thus made his moan:
Written by Edward the Second.
(On the authority of Fabian.)
Damnum mihi contulitTempore brumali,
Fortuna satis aspera
Vehementis mali.
Nullus est tam sapiens,
Mitis, aut formosus
Tam prudens virtutibus,
Cæterisque famosus
Quin, stultus reputabitur
Et satis despectus,
Si fortuna prosperos
Avertat effectus.
227
Imitated by J. P. Andrews.
On my devoted headHer bitterest showers,
All from a wintry cloud
Stern fortune pours;
View but her favourite,
Sage and discerning,
Grac'd with fair comliness,
Famed for his learning;
Should she withdraw her smiles
Each grace she banishes,
Wisdom and wit are flown,
And beauty vanishes.
Of these verses, which Bishop Tanner styles, “Lamentatio gloriosi “Regis Edwardi, de Karnarvon, quam edidit temporæ suæ incarcerationis.”
Horace Walpole says,
I should believe that this melody of a dying Monarch is about as authentic as that of the old poetic warbler the Swan, and no better founded than the title of Gloriosi.
Catalogue of Royal Authors. A Metrical History of England | ||